Smoker&#39;s article



March 13, 1956 CASPER 2,737,956

SMOKER'S ARTICLE Filed May 18, 1954 United States Patent SMOKERS ARTICLE Louis Casper, Richmond Hill, N. Y. Application May 18, 1954, Serial No. 430,527

3 Claims. (Cl. 131-235 This invention relates primarily to smokers articles and accessories, and more particularly to improvements in cigar or cigarette snuifers or extinguishers and ash receiving trays.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved cigarette snufiing or extinguishing means that is associatable in a novel and improved manner with an ash tray or ash receiving receptacle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cigarette snuffer or extinguisher that is effective to prevent the escape of smoke while a cigarette is being snuffed and to prevent the escape of the odor thereof after being extinguished.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a 7 combined cigarette snuffer and ash tray that are readily separable for cleaning purposes and easily replaced in proper snufiing position after cleaning.

A more specific further object of the invention is to provide a device incorporating the features set forth above and in which tubes or cylinder-like cigarette snulfers are held upright on the base of an ash tray by magnetic attraction between the tubes or snuffers and the ash tray or a base plate therein.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will be more apparent in the following detailed description wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an ash tray with a plurality of cigarette snulfers incorporating the features of the present invention associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the combined ash tray and snuifers taken substantially on line 2 -2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of one of the snutfers taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and showing a part of a cigarette in the snnffer.

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 11 indicates in general an ash tray which may be of conventional design and material with a wide flat rim such as 12 at the top thereof. The rim 12 has a series of substantially semicircular depressions or hollows such as 13 therein to provide the usual means for holding or resting a lighted cigarette or cigar.

The ash tray 11 may be of any suitable material such as glass, metal or plastic, and the center depressed section 14 thereof is preferably substantially flat.

Adapted to rest upon the fiat depressed section 14 of the ash tray is a plate or sheet 16 of magnetizable material such as sheet metal, and in the preferred embodiment of the invention the sheet covers or substantially covers the entire depressed section.

Arranged to rest upon the plate 16 or on the center depressed section 14 of the ash tray when it is made of magnetizable material are a series of cigarette receiving tubes 17. When employed for cigarette snufiing, the inside diameter of the tubes 17 will be slightly larger than that of the usual cigarette, and with an ash tray for cigar snufling the tubes will be slightly larger than the Patented Mar. 13, 1956 ICE average size cigar. Depending upon the primary use of the tubes 17,- either to snulf cigars or cigarettes, they should be of such a size as to permit the same to readily or freely be placed therein without excessive clearance. Also, a greater or lesser number of tubes 17 may be employed with a single ash tray, if desired. The tubes 17 may be of any suitable material, such as glass or metal.

Suitably secured to the lower end of the tubes 17 are washer-like magnet elements 18 having their bottom surfaces substantially flush with the lower end of their respective tubes. The elements 18 are of permanent magnetic material such as Alnico, and when a tube 17 with its magnet 18 is placed upon the plate 16, the magnetic attraction between the element and the plate holds the tube firmly on the plate in an upright position. Thus the complete ash tray 11 may be readily moved about without any likelihood of the tubes 17 tipping over or separating from the tray.

As shown in the drawings, the upper ends of the tubes 17 flare outwardly to a slight degree, as at 19, to facilitate the placing of a lighted cigarette therein.

When a lighted cigarette stub 21 is placed or dropped into a tube 17, lighted end first, the tube 17, as hereinbefore stated being of such a size as to permit ready movement therein, the lighted end 22 contacts the plate 16 in the mannershown in Fig. 4. This tends to extinguish the cigarette immediately, and since the cigarette stub 21 substantially fills the tube 17, the passage of combustion supporting air to the lighted end 22 is restricted, and this further tends to extinguish the lighted end if not immediately extinguished by its contact with the plate 16. In addition to quickly extinguishing or snufiing a cigarette placed therein, the tubes 17 of the present invention provide a relatively airtight seal for extinguished cigarettes, and thus substantially contains the odor sometimes emitted therefrom which is objectionable.

With an arrangement such as that described it will be obvious that the tubes 17 may be readily separated from the plate 16 for cleaning purposes, and that the device provides a highly efiicient and novel arrangement.

It will be obvious that various modifications of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and essential attributes thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a smokers article of the type described for receiving cigarette ashes and for snuffing the stubs thereof, said article having a flat sheet-like central depressed base portion of magnetizable material, a hollow open ended cigarette stub snuffing tube, a permanent magnet secured to the outside of said tube at the lower end thereof and with the bottom surface of said magnet substantially in the same plane as the lower end of said tube, the magnetic attraction between said magnet and said magnetizable portion of said base releasably holding the lower end of said tube on said base in an upright position, substantially closing the said lower end of said tube by contact with said base and with a cigarette stub therein preventing the free flow of combustion supporting air to the lighted end of said cigarette stub placed in said tube lighted end first.

2. In a smokers article of the type described for receiving cigarette ashes and for snutfing the stubs thereof, said article having a flat sheet-like central depressed base portion of magnetizable material, a hollow open ended cigarette stub snufiing tube, a fiat annular permanent magnet surrounding and secured to one end of said tube, whereby the magnetic attraction between said permanent magnet and said base releasably holds said tube to any area of said base covered by said magnet and releasably holds said tube in an upright position with one end 3 of said tube adjacent said base and closed thereby, said tube being adapted to hold the lighted end of a cigarette stub dropped therein, lighted, end first, in contact with said base to snufi the same.

3 In a smokers article of the type described for re ceiving cigarette ashes and for snuffing the stubs thereof, said article having a flat sheet-like central depressed base portion of magnetizable material, a hollow open ended, cigarette stub snutfing tube, a flat annular permanent magnet surrounding and secured to the lower end of said tube, whereby the magnetic attraction between said permanent magnet and said base releasably holds said tube in any location thereon and releasably holds said tube in an upright position and substantially air tightly closes the lower end of said tube, said tube being adapted to. hold the. lighted end, of a cigarette stub dropped therein, lighted end first, in Contact with said base to snuff the same, said tube surrounding said cigarette so as to limit the free flow of combustion supporting air to the lighted end to thereby assist in the snufiing thereof, and the magnetic attraction between said permanent magnet and said base permitting the ready removal and replacement of said tubes from said base for cleaning purposes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 425,768 Ezell Apr. 15, 1890 1,904,084 Riley Apr. 18, 1933 2,095,870 Hirsh Oct. 12, 1937 2,434,973 Williams Jan. 27, 1948 2,436,607 Rosenthal Feb. 24, 1948 2,615,738 Johnson Oct. 28, 1952 2,678,223 Gerhardt May 11, 1954 

